It is always a pleasure to return ‘up country’ for a Toowoomba Field Nats outing. John and I had this opportunity for the March outing at Grapetree. We caught up with old friends and made new ones. Tricia had organised a great time as usual. However as much as I love our TFNC friends it was the walk in Perseverance State Forest that was the highlight for me.
As normal the Natters had scattered but a small group was walking down the track when a number of Glass-wing butterflies fluttered around us. Then like a beacon, a glowing orange butterfly flew up amongst them. It was a more dramatic orange than a Wanderer and certainly not the pale orange of a Lesser Wanderer. This was a glorious amber. This was a Tawny Coster. The very butterfly that Rod Hobson had written about in the February newsletter.
Natives of India and Sri Lanka they started to migrate through south-east Asia in 1984 and have been making their way down the eastern coast of Australia since 2017. Read Rod’s article for more information. Renowned butterfly expert and author of butterfly field guides, Dr Michael Braby, describes their appearance as reflecting “…the sunlight quite vividly so they look almost like a hot flame”. The colour ‘tawny’ doesn’t do them justice.
Unfortunately neither Francis nor I managed a good photo, so you’ll have to put up with a slightly blurry one, but this butterfly certainly glows.
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| Photo by Francis Mangubhai |
Photo by Lesley Beaton
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